Dog Fight
by Pagen Godess
Summary: Things were better not perfect but better. Sam was healing, slowly, but he was healing and Optimus was as happy as he could be given the circumstances. Things were good and then she showed up. On hold due to lack of proper computer.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

He woke up screaming from a dream he could only half remember and for half a moment it felt as if he were completely alone. Cold seemed to run through his veins as if they were filled with liquid nitrogen instead of blood and it seemed as if he would freeze. Freeze solid never to be warm again just as he was sure he would always be alone. Then a pair of arms wrapped around him and blessed warmth chased away the cold that had creeped into his bones while he slept and he knew that for that moment he wasn't alone. That for the moment he was safe.

"Another nightmare?" Optimus Prime's voice was deep and smooth and the sound of it sent a small shiver down Sam's spine. There was also a tone of worry hidden deep within his words.

"Yah." Sam answered even though he didn't need to. He'd been having nightmares ever since he'd gotten strong enough to wander around without both of his crutches, though he still used one for support because his right leg was still terribly weak and didn't seem to want to hold his weight most of the time.

The cast had come off over a week ago and the bones in his leg had been declared healed, or as healed as they'd ever be because there was still going to be pain, by Ratchet. He was doing much better than he had been doing in January. It was the middle of March now.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Optimus repeated the question that he'd been asking every night for the past week. Sam blinked and chewed his bottom lip for a moment.

"I don't remember all of it just pieces. Just some of them." Optimus moved to rest his chin of the top of Sam's head. It was a gesture of comfort that was often repeated and more than welcome.

"That's fine. Just tell me what you remember." Sam seemed to hesitate for a moment before he began talking. Optimus listened to the uncertain words that left the teen's mouth as if he were listening to a sermon in a church.

Every word that Sam said was committed to memory so that they could be repeated to Ratchet later. Out of all of them Optimus was the only one that Sam ever talked to about his nightmares. He was the only one that got to hear them straight from the horses mouth. Optimus did however have permission to tell Ratchet about what Sam told him because Ratchet needed to know about anything that could cause any sort of complication in Sam's recovery whither it be physical or emotional.

While he was doing wonderfully physically, mentally was something else. The dreams had been held at bay (by what they didn't know but they all had their guesses) until Sam was physically able to handle them and when he'd made it to that point the flood gates had opened and both of them had gotten caught in the raging waters.

Noting major had come out of Sam's nightmares so far. No major revelation from his time spent with Megatron and his ilk. He only spoke of strange dreams and being left alone and of the sound of Megatron and other mechs talking to each other. It was a slow process but both of them knew that the worse memories were coming and neither were really looking forward to it.

The nightmares were terrible that much was true but waking up was an experience that Sam almost looked forward to. Optimus was always there when he woke up screaming ready to wrap his arms around him in a heartbeat. The cold that was caused by his nightmares was chased away by the warmth that seemed to roll off of Optimus like light from the sun and the bond between them was always filled with love and comfort.

It did wonders for him when he woke up sure that he was alone and unwanted. So sure that he was still laying in the cold on the floor of his cage and that Megatron would be coming in at any moment and that the pain would return. That Optimus had left him to his fate and moved onto another never to even think of him again even for the briefest of moments.

Thankfully the waking nightmare never lasted any longer than it took for Optimus to wrap his arms around him and pull him close. He was always there and always ready to chase away whatever darkness was plaguing him. Sam's voice trailed to a stop in the middle of a sentence as the memory he was speaking of faded from his mind completely.

"I can't remember the rest," Sam huffed and shook his head, "I hate it when that happens. I feel like I'm forgetting something important."

"You'll remember in time Sam don't worry about it and don't push yourself to remember. It'll come when it's ready." Optimus said his voice low and filled with understanding, even though Sam often wondered if Optimus really did understand what was going on in his head. Hell, half the rime he didn't even understand it and it was his head. Sam sighed and buried his face in the shirt that Optimus was wearing.

"I try not to but it bothers me. I hate not knowing what happened but at the same time I don't want to know. If I had the energy to get pissed off at the feeling I think I would." Optimus chuckled lightly the sound rich and deep.

"Then lets be thankful that you don't have the energy at the moment. Now what do you say that we try to get back to sleep. I'm sure that neither one of us wants to get in trouble with Ratchet when we go in for your physical therapy tomorrow." Sam grumbled something about Optimus's phrasing before he snuggled back down onto the bed and closed his eyes.

Sam hated the words physical therapy with a passion. He preferred the word exercise instead for that's what his sessions with Ratchet felt like to him. Exercise to get his body back in shape after his month long period of stillness and then the time he hadn't really been able to move around because of his leg.

Even Ratchet said that it was a more accurate definition for what they were doing. Though a part of Sam was sure that Ratchet only agreed with him because it was easier than arguing with him. Sam sighed in content when Optimus wrapped his arms back around him having let go only so that he could get comfortable.

There wasn't any other place that he wanted to be at that moment. Optimus was safety and warmth and love and light. A guiding light to the shadows that seemed to wrap around him like they were trying to trap him within their grasp and never let him go. The shadowed feeling had something to do with when he'd been asleep but like the dreams of his time with Megatron he found that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember what it meant.

He'd mentioned the feeling to Optimus only once and the mech had been sure that his questions about the feeling would be answered in time. He just had to be patient. He hated being patient. Being patient was for people who had to sit around all the time or for people who's jobs required it of them. Optimus could be patient for him seeing how he had to be patient anyways it came with his job being a Prime and all.

Besides one of them needed to be impatient and he was more than happy to take the job when he was able.

"Go to sleep little one." Optimus ordered as he pulled Sam closer to his body. It was as if any distance from each other was too far apart and often enough for them it was. Sam was more than happy to listen to the command and soon enough he found himself drifting into a peaceful sleep.

A worried smile crossed Optimus's face as Sam drifted off. Blue eyes watched as his breathing evened out as he sank deeper into sleep. There would be no more nightmares that night for Sam only ever seemed to have one at a time. Optimus knew however that they'd be repeating this nights performance for many nights to come. While Sam only ever had one nightmare a night they came every night.

And while Optimus knew that the details of Sam's nightmares were important some part of him hated them like he hated the war. He'd learned very little about Sam's time spent with the Decepticons from his nightmares. Nothing vital had been glimpsed yet. Nothing to explain the almost constant chill that seemed to cling to Sam's skin like a small child holding their parents hand. He had learned nothing about how Sam had been injured or about the deaths of Bumblebee and Punch, though he was reluctant to bring up either mech in Sam's presence.

Even the mech's stationed at the base with them seemed to understand that for the time being their fallen comrades were a taboo subject around the boy at least until Sam brought them up himself. None of them were going to push for information. It wasn't worth risking Sam's current state of confused contentment. The first few days back at the base had been bad enough because while Sam had been well enough to get out of the hospital he hadn't been well enough to get out from underneath Ratchet's watchful optics. Sadly his first night under Ratchet's watch had resulted in him not sleeping.

They hadn't been sure if it was the noise that the medic made while moving around that had caused it or if it had been something else. As it had turned out almost anything having to do with them in their bipedal modes seemed to trigger something in Sam that made the boy highly uncomfortable. Ratchet's almost constant watching had been the cause of Sam's sleepless first night.

He hadn't been able to remember why but the medic's stare had made him more than uneasy though that was the second thing they had learned. Touch had been the first thing that had come to their collective attention for while Sam was comfortable enough to be around them while they were in bipedal mode as soon as one of them even made a motion to touch him he'd flinch and pull back as if he expected them to hurt him. It had hurt thinking that Sam was scared of them.

Sam had of course apologized and told them that he didn't know why he'd pulled back. Amazingly enough it had been Epps who'd offered up a reason for why he did it. From what Epps had explained it had been a subconscious reaction. The last time he'd been touched by a mech of their size he'd been hurt and so his body was convinced that they were going to hurt him even though Sam knew that they weren't going to. It was a subconscious response that would fade given time or so they hoped.

All they had to do was wait for Sam's brain to convince his body that they meant him no harm. So far he still flinched whenever one of them made to touch him in their bipedal modes. Thankfully his flinching didn't bother them all that much anymore. It still bothered Sam something awful however but they'd gone to great lengths to reassure him that they weren't offended or any such thing by the action. There were moments that he was sure that Sam didn't believe them.

Though to be fair Sam was trying and that was all that any of them could ask of the boy after all he'd been through. Sighing and shifting slightly so that he had a better hold on the human sleeping in his arms Optimus wondered just how long it would take to fix what his brother had done to the boy sleeping in his arms.

That was if it could ever be truly fixed at all because despite the fact that they were all optimistic about Sam's recovery there were times that Optimus doubted that Sam would ever truly heal.

Ooo

Lennox had to admit that the newly constructed Autobot section of the Nellis Base seemed to feel as if it had always belonged. The newly added section's of the base that were meant to house the Autobots that were present at said base were all built underground with entrances in a few of the hangers that were towards the back of the base. It was an understandable choice of course.

They were less likely to be found if they had anything that might have seemed out of place hidden below ground. That and anything underground would stand up to attacks better. It was amazing really how fast the newest section of the base had come into being. They'd be building a few more like it in other countries and when enough Autobots landed there'd be a group of seven or eight at each base built.

A group of Autobots on each continent. It'd make responding to Decepticon threats a whole hell of a lot easier than they were at the moment. Diego Garcia was still being used of course but it was mostly for training now or it would be once the few things that Nellis lacked were taken care of. Diego Garcia had officially become unsafe what with the Decepticons knowing where it was located and all.

He was amazed that they hadn't been attacked there yet but there was some part of him that was quite sure that an attack was coming. All they had to do was wait for it and try to be prepared. He wasn't about to look the gift horse in the mouth however and the longer they went without an attack on Diego Garcia the better. Lennox's room was still dark. He hadn't bothered to turn on the lamp that sat on his nightstand yet. He was half hoping that he'd be able to fall back asleep but it wasn't very likely.

He had about forty minutes until his alarm clock went off and he got up to officially begin his day. He'd come to dread the paperwork that he had to fill out. It seemed that anything regarding the Autobots and their part of the base that needed to be signed needed to be signed by him and not by Optimus which confused him greatly.

Sadly he couldn't skip out on the paperwork either because if he did he'd just have double the amount to do the next day. It was something that not even Ironhide could save him from (not that the mech hadn't offered) no matter how much the both of them wished that he could. It was a never ending fight that he had no hopes of winning. No matter how hard he tried. There was however a perk to his boring days. If he managed to get all of his work done before the end of the week he was allowed off base for the weekend which meant that he was able to go and visit his wife and daughter.

Both Sarah and Annabelle were understandably happy about the whole thing. Even Ironhide seemed to enjoy visiting with his partners family. Annabelle had the black warrior wrapped around all ten of her little fingers and her toes too. Poor Ironhide spent most of his time at the Lennox Farm playing whatever his daughter wanted to. Sadly her favorite game had Ironhide's holoform crawling around on all fours with his bouncing baby girl on his back telling him to "giddy up!".

Lennox had laughed himself silly the first time he'd seen Ironhide playing horsy with his two and a half year old (she'd be three in May). Ironhide had threatened to do terrible things to him that the Autobot Code went against if he ever told anybody. And he'd been reassured that his body would never be found if he so much as hinted anything about Ironhide's game with Annabelle to Epps.

It left Lennox wondering what would happen to him when Sarah finally told Monique about the almost common occurrence at their house. Because he was more than positive that the moments Epps's wife found out about it that Epps would hear about it was well. So chances were he was doomed to suffer an early death at Ironhide's cannons no matter what he did. Though there was always the option of telling Optimus that if he vanished and was never seen again that it was Ironhide's fault.

He knew Ironhide would never purposely hurt him but for whatever reason the black mech's threat served as a major source of amusement for him. Sam had thought it was hilarious when the kid had been told and had promised not to tell though Lennox was fairly sure that Optimus knew about both Ironhide's game with his daughter and his plan should word about it get out. If the Prime knew however he either wasn't saying anything or he'd already told Ironhide that he wasn't allowed to kill him.

No matter which one it was Lennox was grateful for both Optimus's and Sam's continued silence. Lennox smiled to himself and shifted so that he was a bit more comfortable in bed. Maybe he would be able to get some more sleep after all. It seemed like he just barley gotten comfortable and started to fall back asleep when his alarm clock started screeching in his ear.

"Damnit!" Lennox cursed as he rolled over so that he was facing the offending piece of machinery. He was more than half tempted to throw the damn thing across the room. It only took him a few more seconds to realize that he was actually more than half tempted. In fact throwing his alarm clock sounded like an idea that was more than wonderful.

Had anybody been passing by his room at that particular time they would have heard a loud bang followed by cussing as the Major's plan of action failed.

Ooo

The Dinning Hall was crowded and noisy and Epps loved it. The almost constant sound of people talking was something that he doubted he could ever live without. In his line of work things got bad when they went quiet because that usually meant one of two things. Either the twins were up to something or there were Decepticons out and about.

Needless to say he didn't care for either option when it came right down to it. Though if he had to choose he preferred the twins but that was only because their half processed pranks tended to backfire. Epps chuckled slightly at the thought of them and was more than happy that they were back on Diego Garcia helping the rest of the mechs and soldiers that were still on the island.

There hadn't even been a bit of argument over where those two glitches would be staying because there wasn't a chance in Hell of them getting anywhere near the new base until it was twin proofed. Sideswipe did less damage than those two idiots when he was in the mood for a good prank or two. His didn't backfire either.

It made Epps wonder what would happen when Sunstreaker finally landed and the two of them were back together again. He looked forward to meeting Sideswipe's brother even if he could be a jerk at times or so he'd been told. He could deal with jerks. Jerks didn't bother him at all. Assholes did but not jerks. Epps smirked as his eyes landed on Lennox. The poor man looked like he wanted to drown himself in his cup of coffee.

"What's wrong Captain? Did you not sleep good? Was it nightmares?" Epps' teasing only got him a weary look for the other man before he was flipped off.

"No, it wasn't nightmares. That's Sam department at the moment. I just have this really annoying habit of waking up before my alarm clock goes off." Lennox said.

"Well you pore thing." Epps said mockingly, "Why don't you just go to bed sooner?"

"If I went to bed sooner then I'd have to look at your ugly mug before my first cup of coffee." Epps gave his friend a half hearted glare before both of them laughed.

"So, the kids still having nightmares huh?" Epps asked before taking a bite of his breakfast. Lennox nodded before answering.

"That's what I heard from Ironhide earlier. He said that Optimus asked Ratchet about it earlier while Hide was in the Med Bay." Taking a moment to chew and swallow his food Epps thought about what he was going to say next.

"I know nightmares can be bad but is Sam really bad enough to need any kind of help with it yet. I mean Ratchet and the others do know that they go away on their own eventually."

"It's not the night mares that are bothering him. It's the fact that Sam wakes up screaming bloody murder after each one that's making Optimus so nervous. There was something else to but Hide said Ratchet wouldn't tell him. Patient confidentiality or something like that."

Epps snorted. "Sounds more like Ratchet being Ratchet than anything else if you ask me."

"Well no one asked you." Lennox said grinning. Epps grinned back at his friend. They could say just about anything they wanted to each other and it was never taken the wrong way. They had a respect-annoy relationship.

"So what's on the to do list today Lennox?" Lennox shrugged and took a bite of the food that he had been ignoring while talking to Epps.

"Not sure yet. I almost dread going to my office and finding out. I swear that I have more and more paperwork to do everyday."

"Well, you're the boss who else would they send it to?"

"Optimus." Lennox suggested. Epps chuckled before the sound of approaching footsteps caught his ear.

Turning so that he could see who was approaching them Epps let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was one of the on base soldiers that both he and Lennox could stand. Though at the moment he was failing to remember the man's name. The man before them stopped and saluted before turning his attention to Lennox.

"Major Lennox sir you're needed in communications. One of the men stationed there reported picking up something strange." Lennox blinked and looked at Epps before standing.

"Do you have any clue what it is?" he asked. The man shook his head in a negative.

"No, sir, we don't know but someone thinks it may have to do with your friends."

Lennox blinked in confusion before realization dawned. "Alright I'm coming but I need you to go and inform Optimus about this."

The man nodded and turned to leave before he stopped and turned to look at Lennox again. "Which one is he again? I'm terrible with names and faces even alien ones." he said quite sheepishly.

Epps chocked back a laugh. It was hard to believe that someone wouldn't remember which alien Optimus was. "He's the big red and blue one mad with flames on his ankles and chest. Trust me you can't miss him and if you do just look for one of the others and tell them. They'll get the word to Big Buddha."

The man nodded before hurrying off.

"What do you say we go and see if we can figure out if we're going to have company Epps?" Epps looked down at his breakfast for a moment before turning back to Lennox.

"I know this might be a big deal but can I finish eating first?"

Ooo

Ratchet was worried. Which according to those who knew him was an almost constant state of processor for the Autobot medic. In fact the mechs and humans that knew him worried about him being alright when he wasn't worried. It was a small fact that amused the medic on a good day and annoyed him on a bad.

His worry at the moment however was the same worry that had been with him for what seemed like forever. And really it would have been so bad had he been able to pinpoint what exactly it was about Sam that was worrying him so much. It wasn't the nightmares or the weakness that was bothering him. It was the ten million un answered questions that seemed to pop into his processor whenever he thought about those to weeks that Sam had spent with the Decepticons that was driving him fritzy.

He'd ran every bit of information over and over again and the result was the same each time no matter what. Because as much as he hated to admit it even to himself, Sam shouldn't have been among the land of the living. He looked the boy over and run every scan possible both while at the hospital and at the base once they'd been able to move the boy and it always came back the same.

Oh, he knew that Megatron and his ilk hadn't bothered to care for the boy in any way. In fact from what he been told so far he was pretty sure that they had more or less left the boy alone more often than not. What he didn't understand was how Sam had survived without anything to eat for two weeks straight. Humans could survive a week without food so long as they had water and he knew the whatever Sam had been given wasn't water nor was it food.

Water didn't leave behind evidence of burns and the only thing that he could think of them giving Sam to drink made him sick to his energon ingestion system. Which made sense in a terribly ironic way considering the first thing that popped into his processor concerning Sam's burned throat had been energon of some low variety. Though that in and of itself didn't make very much sense considering that even the lowest of low grade should have done more than burn the inside of his throat far worse than it had. It made him wondering in ever expanding circles.

He was confused and unsure and half a dozen other things that he really didn't like being. And there were so many different questions to be answered and little to nothing to go by. Ratchet's pondering was cut short however by the sound of an incoming message over his internal communications systems.

"What?" Ratchet snapped.

"We need you in communications." Ironhide's gruff voice said.

"I'm busy."

Ironhide snorted. "So. You're needed in communications. The humans think they might be picking up a signal from incoming Autobots." Ratchet's entire frame jerked in surprise.

"I'm on my way." Ratchet said moving towards the Med Bay's exit with out a second thought. He'd have to ponder Sam and his death defying ways later.

Oooo

I'm BACK! So did you guys miss me? Probably not but I can hope. So first things first. Yes, I did intend to wait this long to update. The idea of waiting until V-day was intentional because I'm just mean like that. I actually don't have a lot to say here so I'll get this note over with so you guys can go do whatever. I'll update about every two weeks or so alternating between this fic and Hatching Eggs unless major inspiration for one of them hits and I toss the schedule for a week or two. Which may happen when I get closer to finishing either story. Um, so far I don't have much of this story planned though I do know the main things that I want and am aiming to put in this story. As usual I apologize if any characters are OOC. I try my best. Spell checks will happen later when I'm in the mood so it might be awhile. I'd kinda like it if you guys would go read and review for some of my other stuff but you don't have too if you don't want too. And last but most important:

**PLEASE READ**

I plan on putting this at the end of every updated chapter or one shot I make from now on so get used to seeing this. There is a show called Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go that ended one season before it was meant to with the universes biggest cliff hanger. I and a few others that I know of are trying to find people to sign a petition to get the show ended right. PLEASE HELP! Take a few minutes if you don't mind to go to my profile page click on the petition link and sign. Even if you don't know anything about the show you're help will be greatly appreciated. It's become my personal goal to spread the word. (I'm waiting for it to get me in trouble.) Every name both helps and counts. So please sign and help stop me from getting to the point where I send the request to every person I can through a private message. Because while I may still be looking for a group of minions to help me I can be very annoying when I want to be.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

His whole body hurt. Hurt worse than he cared to admit to himself or to Ratchet or to Optimus even. Sam didn't care if all it was was sore muscles. He hurt. Though there was no way he'd be able to hide sore muscles from Optimus for very long. And Sam was quite sure that when Optimus showed up in a few minutes (if he was able to get away from work) to see how his session with Ratchet had gone that the mech would make a much bigger deal about him being sore than he himself was.

He loved Optimus, really he did, with all his heart and soul but there were times where all he wanted to do was smack the mech's holoform across the back of the head. Sadly he doubted that doing so would have much of an effect on the mech. He was half tempted to ask Ironhide if he's smack Optimus for him.

He was pretty sure that the black mech wouldn't have any problem with the request and if he did there was always Ratchet. Sam sighed as he sat in one of the squishy chairs that were set against one of the walls in Ratchet's Med bay. Sam blessed whoever had thought of putting the chairs there for people to wait in when Ratchet was busy because they were a godsend. He'd heard about the incoming signal that just might be coming from other Autobots. It made him happy to think that more of them were on their way and would, hopefully, be making Earth their home.

At the moment though not even Ratchet was sure if the signal was from one of them or not. The chartreuse mech seemed sure that it was but wanted to do more tests to be certain. Because if it was a group of new bots then there was reason for them to be worried. The weak signal could mean that they incoming group were injured though they hoped that that wasn't the case.

But there was also a chance that it was simply the gravity of planets and moons that was screwing around with the signals of the might be bots. Ratchets had said that there was a chance that the mechs, if that's what they were, that were coming simply might not have had their communications systems upgraded in a long time. Sam hoped that that was what it was because he didn't like thinking about new bots arriving to earth hurt. The last thing he wanted to see was an injured mech.

Injuries meant that he hadn't been able to do anything to help, not that there was much he could really do. Like he hadn't been able to help Bumblebee or Punch. A sharp spike of pain ran through Sam's very being at the thought of the two mech's that had died trying to help him.

A different type of hurt started then and it had nothing to do with his sore muscles. He missed Bumblebee so much that it was a psychical pain. He knew that Optimus didn't like it when he thought about Bumblebee and the only reason he didn't like it was because it made him hurt so much.

Optimus hated that he had to feel that kind of pain at all and Sam was certain that if the blue and red mech knew how to make that pain go away that he would. Sam wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to tell the mech how grateful he was for his presence. Optimus was the only source of warmth he seemed to have in life anymore.

Everything seemed cold to him now. Even his skin always felt cold to the touch. Lennox had told him that his skin felt like he'd been standing outside in the cold and hadn't gotten warm yet. Sam wasn't sure if he agreed or not because everything he touched seemed to be either cold or barley warm. It was annoying in more than one way.

He was constantly burning his fingers, and the top of his mouth, because he couldn't seem to tell when something was too hot. Epps had started checking his food for him whenever the dark skinned man was in the kitchen with him and he was eating. Sam had a feeling that it wouldn't be too long before some of the other soldiers started doing it as well and he hated it.

He hated that they had to keep an eye on him like that so that he wouldn't burn himself. It made him feel like a little kid again. It didn't help that he was actually the youngest one staying on the base. He was beginning to miss the warmth that other people provided and that he couldn't seem to feel anymore.

It hadn't been that way when he'd woken up in the hospital. Sure he'd felt cold almost all the time but there had been some warmth back then when he touched his parents and the mechs holoforms and Lennox and Epps. It was almost like someone had cast a shadow in his soul or something and only Optimus could get rid of it.

Hell, it was probably true in some way because Optimus was the only source of warmth for him anymore. There were moments when Sam wondered if that nagging feeling had anything to do with the cold. He could swear that there was something that he was forgetting, something important and it wasn't his missing memories of his time with the Decepticons either.

This was something else entirely. Something far more important and life changing. Sam sighed and leaned back in his chair to stair at the ceiling that was some fifty or sixty feet above him. There was so much that he needed to figure out and the only way he was going to do that was if he remembered.

The thing was though that he really didn't want to remember. He felt cracked enough as it was and some part of him feared that if he remembered then he break completely and then not even Optimus would be able to put him back together.

Ooo

He should have known that morning that it was going to be one of those ungodly long days. The type of day that just seemed to drag on no matter how much he willed it to go faster. And for once his music wasn't helping. Though if he really wanted to be productive he supposed that he could go try and help figure out the signal that they'd received earlier but that kind of thing wasn't his specialty and he really didn't want

too. Actually now that Epps was thinking about it he knew what he wanted. He wanted lunch and someone to eat with him.

Epps took a quick glance down at his watch and smiled. He'd been gone when Sam had eaten breakfast that morning and if he knew Ratchet then the bot wasn't letting the kid out of his sight until someone came to get him from his session and Optimus was currently busy. That meant that it was up to him to go and get the kid. He could kill two birds with one stone.

He'd be able to free Sam from Ratchet and get someone to eat lunch with him at the same time. Besides he's taken it upon himself to be sure that the food the kid ate was actually edible to some sort of human standard. He'd thought that Sam's newly found inability to tell if his food was warm enough funny at first.

Then he'd had the kid make him something (he couldn't quite remember what) and he'd ended up with the top of his mouth burnt all to Hell. He hadn't been able to taste anything right for the next week. Of course compared to the person in question he'd been better off.

Epps was pretty sure that Sam was still burning the top of his mouth on accident whenever he made something for himself that needed to be warm when eaten. It was one of those problems that had sprung up not long after they'd gotten the kid settled on the base with him, Lennox, and the Autobots. And there were times where it seemed like something new was always popping up. He half wondered if Sam had a new problem today or not.

He wasn't going to ask however because he knew better. The last thing he wanted to do was get in trouble with Optimus or worse yet Ratchet. Spotting the open hanger door that led into Ratchet's temporary domain Epps pulled the ear buds from his ears and turned his music off.

He managed to stuff the ear buds in a pocket before he actually entered Ratchet's space. He couldn't help but grin when he caught sight of Sam. The poor kid looked bored out of his mind sitting in one of the squishy chairs along one of the out of the way walls.

"Today's your lucky day Sam." Epps called as he walked across the grey concrete floor. Sam turned to look at him and Epps fought the urge to wince. He looked exhausted but also grateful for the distraction that Epps himself provided.

"Why is it my lucky day, Epps?" Sam asked his voice slightly scratchy. He almost sounded like he didn't spend a part of his night screaming. Epps smiled, all white teeth in a dark face.

"I've come to rescue you from Ratchet. How does lunch sound?" Epps asked as he stopped in front of Sam. Sam gave him a grateful smile as he reached over for his crutch.

"Lunch and freedom both sound great Epps. I've been waiting for Optimus forever but he's been busy with that signal you guys got earlier. Sadly that means that I'm stuck here bored out of my freak'n mind." Epps nodded his head in understanding. For a moment he resembled a bobble head doll.

"Eh, can't fault Big Buddha for doing his job. Besides I'm sure he'll feel bad for leaving you here with only Ratchet for company." Sam laughed before his gaze focused on something over Epps' shoulder.

Epps winced and turned around slowly as if he were about to face a predator. Ratchet stood right behind him his optic's narrowed in the annoyed look that was often reserved for the people or bots that annoyed him the most. Considering that Epps tended to be one of those people the look wasn't all that surprising.

"I can be good company when I have free time Epps. You yourself know this and so does Sam." Ratchet's voice was slightly annoyed but Epps was pretty sure that the annoyance wasn't really directed at him. Epps laughed.

"You can be good company when you're free but right now you aren't free so you ain't good company." Ratchet made a noise that might have been a huff of annoyance had he been human before he shook his head and made a motion with his left hand for Epps and Sam to leave. He still had a lot of work to do.

"See ya Ratchet."

"Good luck with the signal man."

With those good-byes both Sam and Epps made there way from the Med Bay and started heading towards the mess hall and the food that awaited them.

Oooo

I feel like a heel. Seriously guys I'm sorry about the lateness of this chapter and about how short it is but I've gotten freak'n writers block again. It almost seems like I can't go three weeks without getting it as of late. That and I'm debating about whither or not I want to try and forshadow anything from the third movie in this. Sadly me doing that would mean that I'd be forced to wait until I can get my hands on the movie novel. Which come out next month.

That of course means that you'd be forced to wait even longer for an update unless I can manage to get something short out. Once again I apologize for lateness and the short length. I'm not even gonna ask for reviews because I don't really feel like I deserve any. I'll try to update soon but like I said I'm trying to figure out if I wanna play with movie plot any so don't expect to much too soon. I'll keep trying I swear. Maybe I'll get lucky and inspiration will strike me.

Oh and I'm not quite sure what Epps specializes in but I'm pretty sure that it isn't analyzing signals.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sam had no idea what the Hell, Optimus and the others were talking about but he did know that he couldn't hear what was being said over all the other noise in the room. Not that he was really bothered by that fact because if it was really important someone would tell him or he could always spend a few minutes making Optimus feel bad and then the mech would tell him anyways.

Sam was quite sure however that the talk going on in front of him had something to do with the mechs that were scheduled to arrive sometime in the next few days. The same mechs that still weren't answering any of the Autobots attempts to speak with them. Everyone was worried about what could be wrong. No one, human or bot, wanted to think that the potential comrades were too injured to answer calls from Optimus. Sam sighed as he watched the group that was standing some ways away from him. Optimus had the bond between them closed.

That in and of itself wasn't very unusual when the mech in question was talking about something important or very busy. Both of which were happening a lot more often as of late but Sam found that he didn't really mind being alone for most of his day, or as alone as one could be on a military base where soldiers had been ordered to keep an eye on you. It was amusing that even people that didn't even know his name knew that he needed to be watched out for, no matter how much he didn't really need it now.

Thankfully most of the soldiers seemed to realize that he needed his space and so they tended to watch him from a distance. Sam knew that had they tried to baby him he'd have eventually tore into them all. He didn't tend to care about rank if he was really annoyed. But none of that mattered now. No what mattered now was the conversation that was taking place in front of him.

Sam sighed and shook his head. He had to remind himself to not interfere with whatever was going on. If he was needed then he'd be alerted and then he'd be able to participate in the conversation. Sam had learned fast that he had to keep his nose out of other people's conversations no matter what or else he'd get in trouble. There was no way that he'd risk his position as Ambassador to the Autobots. It was too important to him and to the others for him to loose.

The Autobots needed someone that understood them to represent them to the Earth's various governments. That and if something happened to him he wasn't sure how the Autobots would handle having Galloway back in his old position. Not that they didn't see the annoying man every once in awhile. In fact Sam was quite sure that the man would be trying to poke his nose into whatever was going on very soon.

He and several others wanted to know what had happened to him in December very badly. So far they'd been held off because his health had been bad but he was getting better and he knew that he wouldn't be able to hide behind that excuse for much longer. Not now that he was up and around and mobile.

Sam sighed again and scratched the back of his neck. He wasn't quite sure what would happen if the government tried to get him to answer questions about those two weeks. Sam did know that they wouldn't get much if anything from him. Hell, he didn't even really remember what had happened to Bumblebee and Punch. All he really knew was that they had died and that he had been involved.

There wasn't anything more to his memories of them than that. They had dies but he couldn't remember how or why or even when.

"Deep thoughts, kid?" Sam turned towards the voice that had just addressed him and offered the man in front of him a small smile. Lennox offered him his own smile in return. The older man looked like he'd had a long day and was ready to relax. Considering that this was Lennox however Sam was more than sure that the man wasn't actually as tired as he appeared.

"My thoughts are always deep unlike some people I could name." Lennox opened his mouth to reply but stopped when Sam's words were fully processed. The man's friendly smile turned into an annoyed scowl as he pinned Sam with a look that would have had most others cowering in fear. Sam however merely smiled at the other man's annoyance.

"Are you insulting my intelligence or the twin's intelligence?"

Sam barked a laugh. "I was actually thinking about Leo. His thoughts are never very deep."

Lennox smiled and shook his head. He remembered Sam's roommate. He also remembered Sam's roommate trying to get dates with some of the younger Navel officers on the boat that they had been taken back to the US on. It was easy enough to guess what that kid was thinking most of the time.

"You sound like you miss him." Lennox said. Sam shrugged.

"Kinda, I mean we weren't best friends or anything but I did kinda enjoy his company to an extent." It was true enough. Leo was a nice enough guy once you got to know him. He was a little odd though and coming from Sam, who was the oddest person ever, that was saying something. "But it's not to bad. Being the youngest person on base that isn't in daycare kinda sucks though."

Lennox nodded his head in understanding before slinging an arm around Sam's shoulders. "Well I may be able to talk Optimus into letting you come with me this weekend. Get you off the base for a few days. How does that sound?"

Sam couldn't help but grin at Lennox's offer. "It sounds great but I don't think I can."

Lennox raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why not?" he asked. Sam shrugged.

"Other than Optimus?" Ratchet."

Lennox winced at the realization. There was a chance that Optimus would let him drag Sam off to his house for two days but there was no way that he'd be able to talk Ratchet into. Not while Sam's health was stiff off.

Ratchet wouldn't let Sam out of his sight until he was sure that the kid was one hundred percent or as close to one hundred percent as could be. Now that Lennox really though about it it probably wasn't the best thing for Sam at the moment.

Not that he didn't want Sam to meet his wife it was just that he wasn't sure if Sarah would appreciate Sam screaming bloody murder at night. Then of course there were other things as well but Lennox wasn't going to go into them, at least not at the moment.

"You're right about that. Ratchet won't let you out of his sight until he's satisfied that you good as new and then some." Lennox paused for a moment before continuing. "What about going to see you parents. I know its been awhile since you last saw them." Sam shrugged before answering.

"I think they're coming for a visit in a few weeks. I'm not sure exactly when though because they tend to ping pong back and forth between plans and dates."

"Who ping pongs back and forth?" Epps asked as he walked up to the pair.

"Sam's parents." Lennox answered turning to look at Epps.

"Aw. Do I want to know what they're ping ponging about this time?" Epps had seen the pair fight before and they did ping pong back and forth. In fact the couple tended to switch sides so fast that it was hard to keep up with their conversations.

"Doesn't really matter at the moment. So can I ask about the conversation or should I just wait?"

"Optimus said he'd tell you if you really wanted to know. It's nothing major or anything but at the moment it's best that we keep the greenhorns out of it until we're sure that they can be trusted completely." Epps said.

"Last thing we need is for one of these guys to spill something to Galloway or someone else that doesn't need to know everything."

Sam nodded in understanding. There were things that the government needed to know and things that were none of their damn business no matter what they wanted to think. Things like what had happened to Sam and what his relationship with Optimus really was. Yah, if it was deemed need to know then only the few that the Autobots truly trusted were going to know.

And Sam much to his delight was one of the few that was almost always told. It made him feel special in a way. Sam did know however that the things he was told could put him in danger either in the form of humans or Decepticons. It didn't bother him too much because he was pretty much always in danger. He was used to it.

Ooo

Optimus was pacing. Back and forth like he had to much pent up energy and couldn't sit still. This wasn't the case of course. In fact the only reason Optimus was pacing was that for some odd reason it seemed to help him think.

Optimus knew that Sam was watching him from where he was sitting on the bed. The young man had an amused look on his face as he watched Optimus pace. Neither one really felt the need to break the silence that had fallen between them some time ago. There was no reason to really not when both of them were completely comfortable.

"What are you thinking about?" Sam asked. Optimus paused in his pacing and turned to look at Sam.

"I'm trying to choose who to take with me when the new mechs land in a few days."

"Well I know Ratchet will be one of them in case there's an injury. And if you take Ironhide Lennox will end up going and maybe Epps and if Sideswipe goes Epps will go with him because with those four where one goes the partner is sure to follow." Sam's brow furrowed as he thought. "Why not just take them all?"

Optimus shook his head. "I'm not leaving the base unguarded."

Sam snorted. "You're not leaving me unguarded you mean."

Optimus smiled slightly at sam's quick realization before he could stop himself and Sam shook his head.

"Optimus nothing's going to happen to me if you leave me here by myself for a few hours." Sam said. Optimus's gaze fell on him his blue eyes bright.

"I'm not taking that chance. Even if it is unlikely. I won't leave you without a guard." A wave of guilt slipped down the bond between Optimus and Sam before Optimus was able to stop it. Sam sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands before turning his own gaze onto Optimus.

"When are you going to stop feeling guilty Optimus. I've told you before that what happened wasn't your fault. When are you going to believe me?"

Optimus stopped pacing and turned so that he was facing Sam. He stood still for a moment before moving forward and sitting next to Sam on the bed. "I don't think I'll ever stop blaming myself for what happened."

Sam opened his mouth to say something but the words dies before they reached his throat. He wasn't quite in the mood to argue with Optimus over this at the moment. Getting Optimus to forgive himself was something that would take a long time.

It was why he hadn't worn his collar since he'd gotten out of the hospital. He'd been overjoyed at having it back but the looks that Optimus gave both it and him had made it so that he felt bad for wearing it. It was quite possible that he'd wear it again eventually but now wasn't the time for it. No, he had to take care of Optimus first because Optimus needed looking after too no matter how much the mech didn't seem to think so.

"I wish I could make you see the truth Optimus." Sam said as he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Optimus's holoform. Optimus sighed and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Sam in return.

They held each other in silence for a few moments before Sam pulled back far enough so that he could lean forward and give Optimus a peck on the check. Optimus smiles a true smile at Sam's show of affection.

"Have I told you that I love you more than anything?" Optimus asked.

"Not today you haven't." Sam answered, then squeaked as Optimus pulled them backwards so that they were both laying on the bed instead of sitting. Sam could feel it as Optimus placed a soft kiss on the scars that ran down the side of his face.

"I love you more than anything in the world." Sam smiled and buried his face into the side of Optimus's neck. He knew that Optimus meant what he'd said with his entire being. He could feel the complete and utter love that Optimus had for him filling the bond between them. Things were at that very moment about as perfect as they could be. Sadly neither of the people laying on the bed knew that it wasn't going to last.

Oooooo

Okay so once again it's not quite as long as I wanted but it's better. This story doesn't want to cooperate at all and I haven't been able to type up a little event list for it yet.

Eh, sorry about the wait but I wasn't able to get the novel because I'm broke and I've started a rotation of other stories as well. This is the third on list to be updated so it gets updated about every three weeks or so. It would have been up last week but I had a con to prepare for. In fact the only time I'll ignore a story for reasons other than writers block is to prepare for a con but don't worry I'll update the next week or so.

Well the reason for lateness was the con and all the storms we had last week. It rained so much last Sunday that the basement of our house flooded and the basement just happens to be my area. So we had to move all the stuff out of my room and it was just a big mess. I'm back upstairs again. Hopefully the carpet and everything will dry soon and I'll be able to move back down there.

Now it's only a few more days until Dark of the Moon comes out and I'm really excited! Me and my friend might be going to a midnight showing of the movie and if not then we go later that day! Gods above I can't wait! I hope that all of you guys can go and see it and that you enjoy it. It looks like it'll be epic!

So please read and review and I'll see you guys in a few weeks unless you read Hatching Eggs.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Are you sure that you'll be alright?" Optimus asked him for what must have been the hundredth time in the past few minutes. While Sam knew that the mech meant well he was quite sure that Optimus had no idea that he was very close to driving Sam insane with all of his repetitive questions.

"Optimus for the last time I'll be fine while you and the others are gone. Sideswipe and Epps will be here if anything happens." Sam said as he crossed his arms and shook his head in annoyance. Sam knew that Optimus knew he was annoyed as well. How could the mech not know when the bond between them was wide open. Optimus sighed and shifted ever so slightly where he stood.

"I know I'm being over protective and I know that you'll be safe here. I however can't help but worry about your safety little one. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you." Sam thought about pointing out the fact that he was human and that he wouldn't be living anywhere near as long as Optimus himself would but he didn't.

He knew better than to state that obvious fact. Sam knew that his capture in December had shaken Optimus more than the mech had cared to admit even to Sam. Optimus had always feared that something would happen to him. That somehow the Decepticons would take him. And as much as he wished it hadn't happened it had.

The fact that he'd been with Optimus when it had happened made it all the worse for the large mech. So as much as he hated it he knew that in the end he was going to fight against the annoyance he was feeling and let Optimus worry and obsess. If it helped him feel better about leaving for even a few hours then he was at least going to try to not get overly annoyed with Optimus. Though he still wasn't having much luck with it at the moment. It was a battle that would be fought for a long time coming and there wasn't a single thing he could do about it no matter how much he wished that he could.

"Optimus," Sam sighed, "I know you worry about me and I understand why but you have other things to worry about at the moment. You have new arrivals making landfall in a few hours and they're going to need you. So go get Hide and Ratchet and Lennox and get going. The last thing we need is for new arrivals to make it onto the morning news." Optimus shifted his feet slightly and nodded.

"You're right, Sam," he said, "We'll need to leave soon if we're to arrive at their landing site before they arrive." Sam smiled and made a shooing mention with his hands.

"If our conversation is making you late then go. Leave, I'm tired of looking at you." Optimus chuckled and shook his head. He could feel the amusement rolling off of Sam.

The boy's words weren't cruelly meant far from it in fact. Sam was just trying to get him to do his job, something that he hadn't truly been doing for quite sometime. Optimus had been to busy worrying over Sam to really do his job right and as much as he hated the though it was time for him to get back on track. He had an army to lead and worrying over Sam all the time was preventing him from being the leader that his mechs needed.

"We'll be back in a few hours. I'll try to make it back before you go to sleep."

"Don't worry bout that chances are I'll still be awake. Worry about your soldiers for now Optimus." Sam smile and send a wave of love over the bond before placing a hand on his hip and pointing towards the hanger exit. "Now get going." Optimus chuckled and turned to walk away. Only taking a moment to return Sam's love before exiting.

Ooo

The universe that they traveled through was vast and cold and full of danger. Some of the danger was in the form of meteorites but mostly it was in the form of enemy Decepticons. None of them were quite sure how many Decepticons they had slain while traveling to the small blue planet that others of their kind had taken refuge on. The battles seemed almost to many to count even for them. Though it was very likely that none of them wished to remember the fights for life and death that had cost them the lives of their friends and family.

There was hope however. Hope that the war was just a bit closer to ending now than it had been the moment before. Earth and that battles and won there gave them hope that the war just might be closer to ending than it would have been had they still been on Cybertron. Earth and the new allies they had found there and the hope that they would bring to the Autobot cause.

A hope that they could win the war and find peace. Four protoforms drifted ever closer to a single blue planet that had given their kind refuge even though they were as different from the native inhabitants as could be.

ooo

The might air of March was cool against his skin and while it wasn't as cold as it had been a few weeks before it was still cool enough that Lennox was thankful that Ironhide had insisted that he wear a jacket. Ironhide had even threatened to get Ratchet involved when the soldier had asked Ironhide if he was his mother. Lennox had cringed and done as asked.

He knew better than to tempt fate where Ratchet was concerned. While the mech wouldn't throw a wrench at him the mech did have a collection of Nerf balls that hurt quite a bit when they were thrown at whatever human was annoying the medic at the moment or being particularly difficult. The foam balls worked just as well on humans as wrenches worked on Autobots.

"So how much further is it Ironhide?" Lennox asked as he tapped his fingers on Ironhide's dash. The black mech was silent for a moment before answering, his deep voice sounding from radio speakers.

"A couple of miles. We wanted to be as far away as possible from people but close enough to a place where they could trans-scan a vehicle to change into in order to get back to base." Lennox nodded his head in understanding.

"Any idea who they are yet?"

"None though I think at this point they're doing it to be stubborn. They want it to be a surprise." Ironhide grumbled. Lennox laughed at the mech's seemingly sour mood. Ironhide hated surprises. The only type of surprises that the mech did like were the kind that could be blown up with his cannon's.

"Well it can't be too bad. I mean if they're going to do this just for the Hell of it then chances are they aren't being followed by Cons." Lennox had half a smile on his face. He sure as hell hoped that there weren't any Cons following the mechs that were on their way.

"I suppose that it's possible," Ironhide grumbled, "though I do know a few fraggers that would do this even if they had Megatron himself on their afts." Lennox snorted.

"I know that Hide. You've taken the pains to tell me about all of them in detail. Several times over in fact." And it was true too. Lennox was sure that both he and Epps would be able to identify half of the Autobot army simply from Ironhide's descriptions of them.

"And I do it for your own good Lennox. You'll need all the prep time you can get when it comes to some of the walking disasters I work with."

"I live in fear of Wheeljack and Sunstreaker." Lennox said with a grin.

"And you should Lennox. They're more trouble than they're worth most of the time." Ironhide's tone was so serious that Lennox couldn't help but laugh at the mech.

"I'm sure they're not that bad. Besides I'm sure that you can put both of them in their place without any trouble."

Ironhide snorted. "Of course I can. Of course Wheeljack isn't someone you want to spend too much time around. His tinkering can be hazardith to everyone's health even his own." Lennox laughed again. He'd heard all the stories about Wheeljack too.

"We'll stick him with the scientists. They're nuts anyways. He'll fit right in."

ooo

Epps chuckled as he listened to a group of soldiers groan. They were learning a lesson that was eventually learned by all members of NEST. Sam always wins at poker. It didn't matter if they were playing for spare change or candy. Sam always won and if he didn't then chances are that he'd let the winner win for what ever reason that had popped into the brunettes head at that moment in time. He'd seen Sam's hand when he'd supposedly lost and every time it would have been a winning hand. Though Epps was pretty sure that Sam lost some games so that people would come back to play him again.

"Epps he's cheating!" one of the soldiers called in a voice that Epps would have expected to hear from one of his kids. Epps simply raised an eyebrow at the soldier in question.

"What'd'ya want me to do about it man. I am not Sam's mamma and if I was Sam's mamma I'd be laughing my ass off at you losers. You're loosing to a kid." Sam grinned at him from where he was seated before he pulled a small pile of change, one's and five's towards him so he could see just how much was there.

"You'd think that all the whine would have been killed in boot camp wouldn't you Epps? I've seen six year olds that are better losers than these guys. Primus, you're kids are better loosers than they are." A few men sent Sam glares at the slight insult to their person. They however knew better than to mess with the teen that they'd just lost to. It wasn't worth it to try and get even with him.

"Eh, give um time Sam. It won't be long before we get whatevers left out of um. They're not gonna have the strength left to whine after Lennox and Ironhide are through with them."

"I hear that." Sam said as he began sorting money into two piles. One of which was pushed towards Epps after the money had been divided. The black man grinned as he gathered his share and put it in his pocket.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you Sam?" Epps said as he leaned back in his chair. Sam offered him a grin of his own before speaking.

"It was nothing. A deal is a deal after all." One of the solders Sam had been playing against sputtered and whipped his head back and forth his face going red.

"The two of you were in cahoots weren't you? You helped him cheat!" Epps looked hurt and placed a hand over his heart his eyes wide with shock.

"I would do no such thing my friend." Sam snorted.

"Sure you would Epps and you know it." Epps smiled.

"Eh, you're right I would." Several angry curses sounded throughout the room as the soldiers realized that they'd been had. Epps and Sam however merely looked at each other and smiled.

All Epps really had to do was hang around and make a few comments about poker and players would come running thinking that they'd be playing him (sadly, poker wasn't his game) when they'd actually be playing Sam. There wasn't really any cheating to it at all but if it made the other soldiers pride sting a little less then both Sam and Epps would let them think that they'd been working together to cheat the men out of their pocket change.

ooo

Optimus shuttered his optic's as he watched the sky above his head. Their comrades were due to make landfall at any moment and Optimus wanted to know the exact second that they breached the atmosphere. They hadn't had new arrivals in almost two years and all of them were looking forward to seeing old comrades again. It didn't even matter that they still didn't know who exactly was making landfall.

Ironhide's suggestion of them being stuburn and wanting to surprise them made all sorts of sense, mainly because they each knew several mechs who would want to make their arrival a surprise. It was amusing in a way and annoying in many others.

"They gonna be here anytime soon?" Lennox asked from his place on the ground next to Ironhide's feet.

"Any minute now, Lennox."

"Fraggers are taking their time. The sooner they get here the sooner I can get whatever repairs are needed done and out of the way." Ratchet said as he crossed his arms and began tapping a finger on one of his elbows." Ironhide snorted.

"Well, you won't have to wait much longer Hatchet. Here they come now." Eyes and optics shifted back up towards the sky and the three meteorite like objects that had just entered Earth's atmosphere.

The three protoforms streaked across the sky leaving trails of fire streaming after they impacted the ground a thousand feet away soil and dirt flew in every direction and smoke and dust filled the air. By the time Optimus and the others had arrived at the landing sight the dust had settled and the smoke had cleared. Three silver protoforms now stood before them.

It was Ratchet the broke the silence that threatened to stay between the two groups. He did so by chucking his favorite wrench at one of the mechs standing before them before he began tearing into him with words.

"Wheeljack you slagging idiot! I should send you to Primus myself for blocking off the bond like that!" Ironhide and Lennox both burst into laughter while the stunned scientist tried to explain that he hadn't meant any harm by blocking off the bond, only that he'd wished to surprise his bondmate and nothing more.

Optimus watched amused as Ratchet tore into Wheeljack before turning to great the other two Autobots that had landed. He had every intention of leaving Wheeljack to Ratchet and not interfering. He was just about to turn and great Mirage when the figure standing next to him caught his attention.

Optimus shuttered his optic's before taking a second look. His optic's hadn't been lying to him. Optimus would have known the femmie standing next to Mirage anywhere. It was one that was forever engraved in his memory banks. The femmie before him tilted her head just slightly and laughed a soft laugh that he hadn't hears for millenia. Unable to say anything Optimus found that all he could do was stare. The femmie before him laughed again before speaking.

"Hello, Optimus." It took Optimus a moment to pull an answer from his shocked vocals.

"Elita. How is this possible? The last time I saw you you'd been off lined.?" Elita laughed again.

"I assure you dearest spark that I am very much alive."

ooooo

Look a new chapter. I'm not actually really happy with this but I knew that this chapter wasn't going to go so well when I lost what I had before to a screen less computer. Eh, hopefully my computer problems are done until the end of November. I apologize again for how long it took me to get this done but life sucks and I couldn't do anything. I have the next five or so chapters planned out so they should be a bit smoother than this one. And with any luck I may have another update for you before NaNoWrimo begins. I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing this year. Though I may end up working on Hatching Eggs and getting my next crossover started.

Now then I have a request. On my profile page there should be a pole. This pole is a list of crossover idea's that have hit me and not left me alone. I have the same pole posted on the Transformers 07 fun group on live journal. If it's not to much to ask would you guys mind going and voteing? I want to know what crossover you guys want to see after Hatching Eggs is done and over with.

Please and thank you.

Pagen


	5. VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

Dear Readers,

I bring with this authors note terrible news. And no it's not going to be my bad spelling. Sadly I will not be updating whichever story this is due to the files for it being gone. ANd I do mean gone. I just lost every single fanfiction file I had to my name. There is no oner a folder or file for Hatching Eggs, Dog Fight, Poke'balls or any other Fanfiction that I had been typing and you reading. Meedless to say this means that your going to have to wait for updates and there is a very good chance that all of you will be waiting for a long time.

For not only did I loose all of the new chapters that I was going to post for my stories but I lost all of the info for them as well as everything I'd typed up in a moment of inspiration and planned on working on later. This of course means that while I had something for all of you to read a few minutes ago I don't have it anymore. I've run into this glitch before and been fine with it for the only thing it bothered were things I could have back in an hour or so. This however is not the cse now. Had this been anything other than my fanfiction folder I would have been mad but wuld have goten over it. Most of the other things on my drive I can get back. My fanfiction however I can't.

On another note I regret to infrm you that I won't be abe to work on any f my current fnfiction either. Seeing how my computer access was potty before and I lacked the proper time and rights to type chapers on my brothers compter I took to writing my chapters in notebooks. I had ten notebooks for seperate stories/fandoms. Needless to say eight of these are currently in Arkansas while I myself am in Tennessee. My family has promised to send them to me as soon as they are able. This however means that until I have them ack I won't be working on anything that I really really want to.

So it is with great sorrow that I tell you that all of my current stories are on hold until further notice. I shall now go and cry in a dark corner.

I am truely sorry,

Pagen


End file.
